Audeze Mobius review / impressions
Sep 23, 2018 at 4:44 PM Post #1,036 of 5,780
So i just came back from holidays to find my Mobius (go Team Copper!!) waiting for me. Really Stoked!

Charged it over night. Plugged it in (USB). HISS. Wow it's really bad for my ears... Even present in more silent Parts of Music as well as in pause/breaks(yes, there is music (which is not limited to classical music which has breaks/pause) Doesn't change when I go from Hub directly to mainboard, or front-usb...
I know my power is good, no problems with my active monitors or any other headphones (and o2dac). Will look into Bluetooth and AUX tomorrow and will report back.

I like the sound signature so far. Will compare it tomorrow with fresh ears :)

Also: noone did mention the rather loud microphonics/microphony when running the cable over a table. Never had it this loud before (i use the Sony Z1000 as well as Denon AH-D600 as my regular closed-backs)

I just tested the Mobius with Bluetooth again. Unfortunately could not make a 1:1 comparison with USB. There is still very (well it depends who you ask of course) audible hiss/white noise. It seemed less to my ear usign Bluetooth in contrast to connecting it to PC via USB, but I have to verify that next weekend. Unfortunately I can't take the Mobius with me the whoel week, so I'll have to wait till next week... Will report back asap!
 
Sep 23, 2018 at 4:49 PM Post #1,037 of 5,780
The battery charging is super wonky. The Windows app is really bugged out when it comes to the battery as well. It's best to get the battery % from Bluetooth when connected to the phone. The battery % always seems to jump around in the app for me. The headphones won't be charging, I'll load up the app and they will start charging, it's all very strange.

Thankfully Audeze said they will be addressing the app/battery bug with an upcoming update.

I thought I remembered reading something about it. But my headphones seem to be completely dead every time I go to use them. So I am not sure if they are charging properly or what. I would assume and hope that usb would be able to power them directly instead of charging only, but the fact that they shut off a few seconds after turning on leads me to believe that usb can only charge and not actually power the headphones during use.

Either way, something weird is going on, and I dont know why they seem to be dead every morning when I go to use them. So I do wonder if I need to unplug them when I shut the pc down.
 
Sep 23, 2018 at 5:48 PM Post #1,038 of 5,780
After a week of listening to music with the Mobius almost exclusively, here are my impressions in no particular order. These impressions are only about the sound quality and functionality with a smartphone for music only, not games or other applications. Finally, with USB-C or Bluetooth, I listened using with only the standard (48 KHz) 2-channel mode and Hi-Res Audio (96 KHz) 2-channel mode; I did not use the 3D mode or the 7.1 channel mode and only dabbled with the analog cable/3.5mm plug briefly, which I will explain in detail.
  • Very detailed, but not transparent. Sounds wide but lacks imaging, though it doesn't feel too closed in my head. Reminds me of the Hifiman HE-560, but much more wider and airy despite being a closed-back pair.
    • The music I listen to are not "audiophile" music. I only got one example, since it's still fresh in mind: all of Band-Maid's albums and singles (I love this band!). Very dynamically compressed songs, but the Mobius played these songs effortlessly; no distortion or doesn't sound as crushed. In "secret MAIKO lips", each strum of the shamisen and the echoing backing vocals are very clear despite the heaviness of the main guitar, bass guitar and drums. Maybe I'm easily surprised, but I didn't notice these details with the HD 660S or the HE-560.
  • Even though these are closed-back, it does not dampen the outside noise enough to be usable for outdoor use. This is probably a good thing if you need to pay attention to your surroundings while walking, but if you're in a noisy train or bus, these headphones are not great at isolating.
  • I noticed that the audio is noticeably much louder when it's connected to a smartphone or PC using USB-C or Bluetooth. When the Mobius is connected with the analog cable, my smartphone (Galaxy Note 9) could not power these headphones adequately, even at max volume. Though to be fair, Samsung's analog audio output is only meant for very efficient headphones and IEMs.
  • When using USB-C with a smartphone (at least on the Galaxy Note), you must set the output to 2-channel or Hi-Res Audio mode, or else it will destroy your ears. The headphone defaults to 7.1 channel mode and the sound output from the phone is at full volume and it sounds like a million cats scratching a blackboard. MAKE SURE to change the output to 2-channel or Hi-Res Audio mode before playing any music. And finally, 3D mode is also on by default which is a small nuisance when connecting to my phone every time. I wish these headphones have some internal memory of the last settings used.
  • With Bluetooth (using LDAC), the connection is flawless and 99% stable, and I did not notice any difference in sound quality in comparison to using with USB-C. In very rare occasions, it does skip, but it's not a deal breaker.
  • Despite the flaws with USB-C and the rare skipping in Bluetooth, I still prefer using either of these over analog due to the aforementioned lower volume. I think the DAC and the sound output is really top-notch that using a smartphone with an external DAC is kind of unnecessary.
  • There are a couple of things I'm worried about: how long will the battery last before it can't take a charge anymore and is there a way to replace the battery in the future?
I'm glad I purchased these during the Indiegogo campaign, which is far less than retail. Even though these headphones are great right now, it might be useless to me in the near future when the battery is completely dead.
 
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Sep 23, 2018 at 7:51 PM Post #1,040 of 5,780
Bought these a few months back and got them a week ago. I'm not really impressed with the package as a whole for gaming.
The sound is good and they have some cool features, but the ergnomics suck and they're straight up annoying to use.

I hate having to fiddle with the buttons and scroll through different modes before every single use. It also sucks that if you ever forget to turn the headphones off after a session they're toast. The mic and "hear your own voice" feature isn't working so great for me, I have to have my mic at 100% for my friends to hear me but it also makes the sidetone too loud.
While the sound is good I don't actually prefer the signature for gaming. I'd like an warmer EQ setting but I haven't found a good one yet.
I think bluetooth gaming headsets aren't really doing it for me. I'd rather have a headset with a base station.
 
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Sep 23, 2018 at 8:08 PM Post #1,041 of 5,780
Bought these a few months back and got them a week ago. I'm not really impressed with the package as a whole for gaming.
The sound is good and they have some cool features, but the ergnomics suck and they're straight up annoying to use.

I hate having to fiddle with the buttons and scroll through different modes before every single use. It also sucks that if you ever forget to turn the headphones off after a session they're toast. The mic and "hear your own voice" feature isn't working so great for me, I have to have my mic at 100% for my friends to hear me but it also makes the sidetone too loud.
While the sound is good I don't actually prefer the signature for gaming. I'd like an warmer EQ setting but I haven't found a good one yet.
I think bluetooth gaming headsets aren't really doing it for me. I'd rather have a headset with a base station.

I understand what you mean about wanting a warmer sound for gaming. At least I think I do. While the detail in these are great for gaming with 3D on, I'd like a little more down low for things like explosions and the like, giving it a more full sound. That being said, I'm still happy with them. It would be great if they remembered the preset you last used, but it isn't a huge deal to me. More of a convenience factor than an issue
 
Sep 23, 2018 at 8:18 PM Post #1,042 of 5,780
Yeah, you're correct, forgot to add that!

I also wonder if the Mobius will work fine with a USB active extension cable? Need one in order to have enough reach for my TV.

I bought the HDE HDEA-149 active repeater 25 foot cable from Amazon and it works great. It's a USB A female to A male so I use it with the supplied C to A cable between headphone and active cable.
 
Sep 23, 2018 at 8:19 PM Post #1,043 of 5,780
I'm glad I purchased these during the Indiegogo campaign, which is far less than retail. Even though these headphones are great right now, it might be useless to me in the near future when the battery is completely dead.

The battery should last a couple of years at least before it sees any significant degradation. If it's a quality battery and it's charged frequently there's no reason it should die any time soon.
 
Sep 23, 2018 at 8:20 PM Post #1,044 of 5,780
Bought these a few months back and got them a week ago. I'm not really impressed with the package as a whole for gaming.
The sound is good and they have some cool features, but the ergnomics suck and they're straight up annoying to use.

I hate having to fiddle with the buttons and scroll through different modes before every single use. It also sucks that if you ever forget to turn the headphones off after a session they're toast. The mic and "hear your own voice" feature isn't working so great for me, I have to have my mic at 100% for my friends to hear me but it also makes the sidetone too loud.
While the sound is good I don't actually prefer the signature for gaming. I'd like an warmer EQ setting but I haven't found a good one yet.
I think bluetooth gaming headsets aren't really doing it for me. I'd rather have a headset with a base station.

I understand what you mean about wanting a warmer sound for gaming. At least I think I do. While the detail in these are great for gaming with 3D on, I'd like a little more down low for things like explosions and the like, giving it a more full sound. That being said, I'm still happy with them. It would be great if they remembered the preset you last used, but it isn't a huge deal to me. More of a convenience factor than an issue

The Mobius follows the old harmon curve well(flat bass/mids and elevated treble) and I'd imagine they have low distortion, just use equalizer apo, reduce 2khz+ increase below 100hz, there's your warm sound.

I agree, remembering last settings would be nice, everytime I turn them on I have to go to dev options, set the sample rate, set the bit rate, change to 3d manual. But some of that isn't the Mobius' fault it's the phone or the pc and recognizing new devices. And in the end for having virtual stereo system bluetooth headphones I'm not bothered. On my main system I have to turn on 6 devices, run a program, set an eq, then i can load up music or a movie or game... it's the price you pay for using something new and special.
 
Sep 23, 2018 at 8:28 PM Post #1,045 of 5,780
I understand what you mean about wanting a warmer sound for gaming. At least I think I do. While the detail in these are great for gaming with 3D on, I'd like a little more down low for things like explosions and the like, giving it a more full sound. That being said, I'm still happy with them. It would be great if they remembered the preset you last used, but it isn't a huge deal to me. More of a convenience factor than an issue

I'm currently using Equalizer APO for system wide EQ, I have a 6.5db boost to the sub bass area with these headphones (leaving them on "default" sound profile). The following is what I'm using, I like the way these sound I just wanted a bit more "thump", I think it's also best to EQ the default setting so that you don't have to keep swapping profiles whenever you power on the Mobius.

MobiusEQ.png


I think it's also important that you use the right room ambient settings in the app. The higher the setting of this the more "metallic" sounding they get. They do emulate a large echoing room, but they don't sound full at all if this setting is up too high. The default is in the 40's or so I think, which I found too high. I lowered this down to 32 and I like the way it sounds with the above EQ settings.
 
Sep 23, 2018 at 10:02 PM Post #1,047 of 5,780
Have you ever Bluetooth paired them?
They're supposed to shut off when there is no signal but I don't think they do.

I just power off the Mobius when I don't use it and the battery seems fine...

Yes, I have bluetooth paired them to my phone... but I also shut them off when I am done using them every time, and still have weird issues when I go to use them the next day while still plugged into my computer.

I am just having a really difficult time figuring out whats going on with the battery because it seems to be draining either a whole lot while using them (and while plugged into usb) or its draining while powered off.
 
Sep 23, 2018 at 10:03 PM Post #1,048 of 5,780
Have you ever Bluetooth paired them?
They're supposed to shut off when there is no signal but I don't think they do.

I just power off the Mobius when I don't use it and the battery seems fine...

My Mobius powers off 3 minutes or so after being disconnected from a source.
 
Sep 23, 2018 at 10:58 PM Post #1,049 of 5,780
two quick questions

would lightning to usb-c work with idevice? if using cck would be very bulky. how about using a lightning cable with usb-c to usb-a adapter?

if using aux in, assuming would be bypassing the DAC, just using the amp part. ie, the audio signal would be processed once only through say, mojo, instead of twice, mojo AND cypher?

thanks.
1. No. It won't work since apple doesnt pass audio unless you use the CCK.
2. Aux-in signals are converted to digital using an A/D and go through the same process.
 
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